Oh my!

Soap on a rope! By Tom Ford, $18.

YOU are a joke!

Kidnapped by Rebels

Kidnapped by Rebels
Last Friday, after less than a week's training, he was handed a machine gun and ordered to the front line.

The quiet schoolboy yesterday told The Daily Telegraph how he was kidnapped and turned into a soldier by troops loyal to Laurent Nkunda, the rebel leader whose offensive has won him large swathes of territory and forced 250,000 people from their homes.

Thousands more were fleeing again yesterday as government soldiers looted towns north of the rebel-held area as they abandoned their positions.

"It was after school, and my mother asked me to go to buy soap for washing our clothes," Patrick said yesterday in a rehabilitation centre in Goma, eastern Congo's main city.

"The rebels found me on the road and they and ordered me to carry their bags, they said I was not going home anymore, I was going to be a soldier.

"I said I am too young, and I am the only boy in my house and I have to help my mother. But I could do nothing. I have heard that if you refuse them, they just kill you straight away."

He was marched to a rebel base, where there were 'many, many' other children being trained close to a field hospital receiving the injured from last week's fighting between rebels and a pro-government militia group.

At night, as equatorial downpours flooded the hills, he slept in the open under scraps of discarded uniforms. Each day, he was fed only one small bowl of maize-cake.

"We were taught how we should run forward and how to hold the gun, how to shoot at the enemy and not be afraid," he said. The rest of the time, the boys and girls had to carry milk to wounded soldiers.

"There were many of them, some had gunshots in their faces, one had lost his arm. We had to carry the dead people and bury them. When I saw them, I was so afraid because I knew that soon this would be me."

Five days later, last Friday, he was given his gun and ordered to march into the bush towards the fighting.

"I knew that if I went there, I must die, but I knew that if I tried to escape they would shoot me," he said.

Eventually, he plucked the courage to tell his troop commander that he needed the lavatory. Once into the bush, he ran, dropping his rifle and tearing off his uniform as he fled towards the safety of a United Nations military outpost nearby.

He was lucky to escape. Of the 33,000 children forced into Congo's myriad armed groups since its first civil war erupted in 1996, it is estimated that more than 3,000 are still on the battlefields.

The recent surge in fighting, which started in August and intensified in the last fortnight, has raised fears of fresh use of child soldiers by all sides, Save The Children said.

"We are extremely concerned that this is going to increase dramatically cases of new recruitment," said Emma Fanning, the agency's child protection coordinator for Congo.

"It is exceptionally difficult for us to intervene at this point, but it is exactly when it is most tempting for children who have been disarmed to go back to the armed groups, simply to protect themselves and their families."

Patrick is now one of 244 former child soldiers staying at a transit centre in Goma.

"He cannot return to his mother, because the people who took him will find him again," said the centre's director. He refused to be named in order to obscure Patrick's whereabouts.

"We will care for him here, but until there is more effort to stop this war, and to stop the poverty which forces some children into armed groups, I am afraid we will see many more children here like him."
telegraph.co.uk

Goyard...I'm still waiting.

"Nothing further I jumped, grabbed my Goyard trunk..."

It's been a long while since these things have been released...but here I am still wishing and dreaming for one. I keep telling myself - "someday".

Imagination

"A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

How to let someone go?

Someone sent me the the Wikihow.com results for this question. This P.O.A definitely receives the award for "most simply stated, hardest to execute." Sheesh. 

1. Realize that you still love this person. If it feels as if you can't let go, it's for a reason. Forgetting this person may be very hard to nearly impossible, but that doesn't mean that you can't move on in life.
2. Understand that there are other people out there, you just can't see them. You obviously have been in love with this person so much or so long that it has gotten you to the point where there's no other person in the world but them. Moving on is the hardest part and it can take a long time, but go out with friends and have a good time, because life is too short to live it down in the dumps.
3. Never love anyone more than they love you. This one may be hard because most chances are that the person doesn't know how deeply in love you are with them. Pretend you are in their position and realize how they feel... this should affect you because you would know what they're feeling about you.
4. Talk to someone. It's always good to get out your feelings with someone comfortably. Talk to someone close to you or if you have to, go see a therapist. Letting go of your emotions and thoughts with someone can be a natural healer. Know that you don't always have to cry it out. (Even though sometimes you have to).
5. Decide if you want to remain friends. If you are staying with them in the hopes that they may love you again, then don't. This could restrict you in life and cause you even more pain. Listen to your own heart.

Bond's Girls (Pussy Galore)

     

Presidential Sweet

"I am an imperfect vessel for your hopes and dreams.”  -Barack Obama (pictured above)

Never ceases to amaze

What doesn't he do? Here are his paintings of a series of events that would unfold at a ball.

To view all the photos click here

I Would.

I wish I could kiss him forever.

If my lips could rest on his neck for days at a time... I would be a happy woman.

If my hand slept in his every night...I would never have a bad nights rest.

If his smile woke me up every morning...I would never sleep in.

If his voice embraced me whenever I got upset...I would always remain grounded.

If his eyes would find mine every afternoon...I would know why tomorrow is worth it. 

If his arms enwrapped whenever I was weak...I'd always find faith.

If his words seduced me whenever I was silent...I'd be a good listener.

If his mind opened up to my touch...I would never lose contact. 

If he...were to see me...and know...

If I could love him..

and he would let me...

I would.

Influence

...The new book released by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen is a compilation of personal photographs and fashion advice from Karl Lagerfield, John Galliano, and Christian Louboutin. Also included are tributes to Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and the likes. How 'bout that for a good read recipe.

Smell like Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld's fragrance line Kapsule is sold exclusively at Neiman Marcus. Sold separately but can be worn all together. I approve...

Take a further look...

Dolce & Gabbana's Cruise 2009 ad campaign...I think this ad is ______(fill in the blank)

No crackberry, no treo, no razor...

I want the Dior phone for Christmas. 41 diamonds and sapphire crystal, I'll be a happy girl if I find this in my stocking.

Come party with me & my agency for some holiday cheer!

She's baaaaaack

Obama named Clinton, a New York senator, as secretary of state and said Gates would remain as defense secretary, a post he has held for the past two years.

The Comeback Kid

Britney Spears looks better than ever at the Bambi awards...did I mention Karl Lagerfeld presented the award to her?

My Soldier

The man I knew was kind and caring
Always tending to my every need.
The man I knew kissed the floor that I walked on
And was marriage material.
The man I knew was the man I fell in love with.
The man I knew doesn’t exist anymore.
The man I knew went to war after 9/11
And came back a stranger.
The man before me yells, and fights
And doesn’t care about my needs.
This man would crumble the floor I walk on just to see me fall.
This man is not just any man.
He carries the face of the man I once loved
But the attitude of a stranger.
I fight for us, and want you to remember all the great times we had,
But I know that all you think about it is what you saw over there.
The pain you had to endure for this country,
And now the pain I endure to get back the one I love.
I wish and hope the man I knew will come back
But he had my heart and left it in Iraq.